With Or Without You
by babyimmasuperstahh
Summary: Once again, he had broken the fragile girl. And he made it his job to put her back together. BL.
1. Broken Girl

A/N: Okay, so after last night's episode, I am convinced that Julian is a good guy, and I'm excited to see where Brooke/Julian goes. I was disappointed because, yet again, there were no Brooke/Lucas scenes. I don't understand how they could build up so much friendship (I wanted love, but I'm okay with friendship) last season, and have around 2 scenes with them in what, 9 episodes? Seriously, I understand that Peyton/Lucas are together now, but please include more BL interaction.

Warning: I know that this story is not that good, just an idea I had in my head after seeing the promos for the next episode. I apologize in advance for this being kind of rushed.

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He could see them in the distance. Her head is tilted back as she laughs at something he said. She looked perfect to him, as always, yet he couldn't help but wish it were him instead of Julian. He couldn't understand why he was feeling this, because he was marrying Peyton. He was in love with Peyton, and excited that she would soon be his wife, but there was an empty spot in his heart where Brooke Davis had been. A part of him had always wished it were Brooke who would be sharing his last name.

"Shut up, Julian!" He heard her say, playfully hitting him on the shoulder.

Since Peyton told him that they were once in love, he had hated the guy. But just watching Brooke laughing, and touching his arm slightly, made Lucas hate him more.

"Luke, what's u-" Nathan stopped as he saw that Lucas's attention was on something else. He looks in the direction and sees Brooke and Julian engaged in a conversation.

"Lucas?" Nathan says as he waves a hand in front of his face. It seems to work as he was brought back into reality.

"Oh, Nathan. What's up?"

"Nothing, just wanted to see if you were alright, Haley told me you finished writing the hallway scene." Nathan looked towards Brooke's direction, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just," He tried to find the right words, "I don't trust the guy."

It wasn't just trust issues, it was the fact that Julian didn't deserve someone like Brooke. Or Peyton. Brooke was far too good for him in his opinion.

"Okay, but if you need me, I'm here." Nathan said as he waved goodbye, sensing that it wasn't the best time for small talk. Lucas nodded. As he was leaving, he saw Peyton coming through the door.

"Peyton, talk to Lucas, make sure he's okay." Nathan said rapidly as he went to look for Haley.

She nodded, and walking towards her fiancée, she wondered what was wrong. Peyton made her way to Lucas and gently wrapped her arms around him. She looked up into his eyes and smiled.

"How's my favorite author doing?"

Lucas didn't respond. Peyton then saw that his attention was on Brooke and her ex-boyfriend. She looked closer, and saw that his attention wasn't on the two of them. It was only Brooke that he was looking at.

She knew how much he had loved her back in high school. And just a little while ago, she knew how close they had gotten caring for Angie. At many times as she tried to tell herself that they were just friends, and that she was the one who was marrying him, but the way he always looked at her made her doubt it.

"Luke?" She tried again, this time prevailing.

"Huh, Peyton? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just checking on you." She tried to push back her jealousy.

"Oh, I'm good. Just not too happy with this Julian guy. I don't trust him."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you and him have a romantic past, you were in love," He said, looking her in the eyes. "And yet, when you two were together a few weeks ago, he acted like he just met you. Plus, he seems like a guy who doesn't care about other's feelings, considering how much he pushed me to write that scene."

"She's strong, you know." Peyton said, looking directly at Brooke, and ignoring what Lucas had just said. She knew what he was really thinking; she could read him like a book.

"Huh?" Lucas said, confused.

"Brooke. She got over you and me, and look how well we turned out. She got over Angie leaving, the whole Owen thing, and the attack." It was too late when she realized what she had just said. She hoped and prayed that the statement had gone unnoticed.

"Wait, what attack?" Lucas asked, genuine concern and confusion in his voice.

"Oh," Peyton said, trying to find an excuse to leave. "I'm going to go check on Haley."

"Peyton," Lucas said seriously. He grabbed her arm. "What attack?" He said more as a statement than a question.

"Nothing, Luke. Don't worry about it." Peyton tried getting out of his grip. It only tightened, and it scared her how serious he had gotten.

"What attack?" He asked, anger apparent in his voice. Peyton sighed. He was bound to find out sooner or later.

"Do you remember when Brooke had all of those scars and bruises all over her body?" Lucas nodded.

"And I told you she just fell down the stairs? Well it turned out that stairs couldn't exactly do that much damage." Peyton knew that she was betraying her best friend's trust again, but she knew that Lucas wouldn't leave the issue alone if she didn't finish.

"I found her in her bathroom one day, and there were these words all over her mirror. Horrible words, Luke. Revenge, retribution, and stuff like that. When she saw me, she had this look in her eyes. It looked like she was crying, and when I asked her, she told me. She told me how she was attacked in the dark, how she was" Peyton tried to continue, but stopped when she realized Lucas was already making his way towards Brooke.

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"Yea, she's great, but at times she can be a bit…misbehaved. She's learning, though." Brooke said, speaking to Julian about Sam.

It amazed her how well the two had gotten along in a matter of seconds. She felt like he was actually interested in her life, and she enjoyed that.

"Well, it seems to me that she has a great woman to look up to." Julian said, sincerely.

"Thank yo-" She was suddenly pulled up by a familiar blonde.

"Luke, what's wrong?" She asked, seeing the anger in his eyes.

"We need to talk." It scared her how serious he was, and how aggressively he was holding her arm. Her mind flashed back to the attack. She tried her hardest not to let anything show.

He had lead her to a private section, where they could be alone.

"Luke, what's going on?" She asked. Fear was beginning to grow inside of her.

"Why didn't you tell me!" He screamed, making her recoil in surprise.

"Lucas, what are you talking about?" She knew what he was talking about. She knew Peyton couldn't keep it to herself for too long. She just hoped it would be longer than this.

"The attack! Why were you hiding it?" Lucas had become enraged at the fact that the girl, who had always been in his heart, whether he'd admit it or not, lied about something this serious.

"Because, you were happy, Luke!" She said, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. He was stunned by what she had just said.

"For the first time in a while, you were genuinely smiling, and happy. I didn't want to ruin that. What did you want me to do? Come up to you and tell you how a masked man took everything from me? How he pushed me over, and I was defenseless? How I called for help, and realized that everybody was too busy to notice that I wasn't where I usually was?" Lucas stood there, shocked by what Brooke had just said. He looked at the broken girl in front of him, and couldn't help but blame himself for starting it.

"Is that what you wanted to hear, Lucas? Or is it how I can still feel his hands all over me every single waking moment?" Her tears were now falling freely, and she didn't care anymore.

"But I would have helped, Brooke. You should have known that. I'm always here for you." He tried to hide his anger. Anger was building up at every thought of a man, hurting his Pretty Girl, his Cheery. While he was having these thoughts, his mind drifted back to Peyton. He was always there for her. He always put her first, even when he was with Brooke. He remembered the promise he made to her long ago. How he would rescue her. It broke his heart to realize that he had broken one of the most important promises of his life.

"Don't you understand Luke, everything I've ever done was to make you happy. When I broke up with you, it wasn't because I stopped missing you. I missed you every single moment we weren't together. But I saw the way you were with Peyton. I knew you loved her. And she told me she love-"

"You said that it had nothing to do with Peyton."

"Everything with us always goes back to Peyton! You need to understand that! When we were together, you loved Peyton. And look at you two now. Engaged! You're engaged, Lucas! Be happy! Stop dwelling on the past. Please." She lowered her voice as she finished. He was standing there, looking as if he were still trying to let everything she had just said sink in.

She started walking away when she heard his voice.

"Don't trust him, Brooke. He's not trustworthy. He doesn't deserve you."

"Luke, leave it. I'm happy. With, or without you."

She walked away, disappearing into the crowd. Once again, Brooke Davis, the girl, as he had finally realized, that he had always loved, walked away. And he let her.

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A/N: Sorry again, if it was rushed. I'd appreciate reviews, good and bad. I don't care.


	2. Broken Heart

A/N: Thank you to all that read & enjoyed & reviewed! I appreciate it, and I think that I _will_ give this a try as a full story. Let me know what you think.

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The night sky was dark. It was as if someone had taken black paint, swiped it across the sky, only to add a dot of yellow in it, providing light. The night itself was quiet. No animals, no birds, just sky. This night proved to be perfect for the events. The crowd outside was restless. They jumped, and screamed at everything. It seemed that an ant could go on stage, and the crowd would scream until their lungs gave out. They were having the times of the their lives. They were living it up, knowing that tomorrow's not promised. Backstage, though, was a very different story.

There, we have Lucas Scott. Successful author, future groom, and loving son and brother. At first glance, he was happy. Hell, he could have been ecstatic. But inside his heart, told a completely different tale.

One of love and betrayal. One of greed, and selfishness. Also, of care and compassion. But mostly, of confusion.

Lucas Scott stood there, watching Brooke Davis, a girl who had earned a permanent spot in his heart, until she disappeared. Never in his life had he felt more alone. Sure, he had family, he had other friends, but what did those things matter if he didn't have her? Once again, he had broken the fragile girl. The one he had long ago promised his heart to, only to break it. The one who he promised to rescue, but never did. The one that he cared for so much that it hurt, but ended up hurting her. And then, Brooke's words echoed in his head.

_"Everything with us always goes back to Peyton!"_

Peyton.

Brooke said everything went back to Peyton. But, there was nothing about Peyton when they broke up. He knew the two were fighting at the moment, but nothing and no one was in his heart, except Brooke.

_"But I saw the way you were with Peyton. I knew you loved her. And she told me she love-"_

What had Peyton done that time? He cursed himself for not letting her finish. But Brooke was the one who broke up with him. Brooke was the one who pushed him to Peyton. Brooke was the one who gave him away.

"Lucas Scott!" He heard Haley scream, forcing him to turn around, "Tell me what you are doing over here, brooding, when you should be out there having fun!"

"Thinking. Just every thing's been piling on top of each other, and I just needed space."

"I know you though Lucas, that is not the 'I'm thinking' face. That's the 'I'm having girl troubles' face. Is something wrong with Peyton?" Haley asked her best friend, knowing fully well in her heart that Lucas loved Peyton.

_Just maybe not enough._ She thought.

"It's Brooke."

Brooke. The one girl Haley knew that Lucas had been ready to give everything up for. But, also the one who gave_ him_ up.

"What is it?" Haley asked, wanting to help Lucas in any way possible to pick one of the two girls he had been going back and forth between for years.

"We just had a little... argument, I guess I should call it. She told me that, back in high school, she broke up with me because..." He tried to find the right words, only to be interrupted by Haley.

"Because Peyton told her she loved you, right before the wedding."

"Wait, what?"

"I'm surprised they haven't told you before, Luke. But I'm not in any place to tell you about it." Haley sighed, and saw Peyton making small talk with random people. "Why don't you ask your fiancee about it?"

And Lucas was off quickly. He wanted to get to the bottom of this high school drama. For years, he had known nothing. No one had even bothered to tell him why the girl he loved truely broke up with him. All everyone wanted was for him and Peyton, the 'perfect' couple to get back together. They did, but at what cost?

"Peyton," He said, pulling her away from the group she was telling a story to, "We need to talk."

"Yea, Luke? What's wrong now?"

"What did you tell Brooke?"

"What are you talking about?" Peyton asked, confused.

"In high school! What did you tell her before the wedding?"

"Nothing." Peyton said, scared of what was to follow.

"Damn it, Peyton! I know what you said, okay! It hurts knowing that you didn't bother to tell me yourself!"

"Why, Luke? It doesn't matter anymore. We're together now right? That was a long time ago."

"It matters because I loved Brooke. So much that my heart ached, and you ruined that. Why would you do that?" Lucas asked, once again angered.

"Because I love you Lucas! Is that so bad? I loved you, I told her, and obviously, she knew we we meant to be together, too."

"Why, Peyton? Huh? Why are we meant to be together?"

"Because, you wrote our story, and it all came so easily. We made it back to each other every single time. We're the storybook couple, Luke. I know it, you know it, and everybody else knows it."

"Well, this is a story that just got cut a lot shorter." Lucas said, finally having enough of the hurt and lies that Peyton seemed to bring.

"What?" Peyton asked, hoping that what Lucas said was just some nightmare.

"I'm done." He said, coldly.

"Luke, you just can't end it like that." Peyton cried, letting tears flow. She didn't care if she was making a scene.

"I just did." He replied, walking away, leaving only Haley, who had just spotted the two, to comfort the crying girl.

He had made his choice. It took a long time, a lot of anger and confusion, but he made it. Sure, he loved Peyton, and he always would. But after the events of the night, it proved to him that what they had been was a lie. He had been pushed towards her by everybody, never to make his own decision.

But it had always been there. Him and Brooke. No matter what they went through, they always had it. That bond that no force could ever break. A connection like no other, and one that no living thing could ever hope to match.

He spotted Brooke, talking to Nathan and laughing. That is what he loved the most about her. The way that she made an effort to get to know the people that meant the most to him, and how she fit in so perfectly. He stood there, still thinking things over when he saw Julian walking around, and then making his way towards him. Lucas was disgusted with the man. It took every ounce of him, but he managed to restrain from hitting him.

"Lucas Scott, my favorite author. What's going on?" Julian asked.

_I can never be alone._ Lucas thought to himself.

"Thinking." he replied for what seemd like the millionth time that night.

"Well," Julian said, spotting Brooke, "I think that while you think, I'm going to go over and see Miss Davis over there."

He started walking towards Brooke, only to be stopped by Lucas, pulling at his arm.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Julian looked confused by Lucas's statement.

"What are you talking about Lucas?"'

"She's not interested." Lucas said, showing no emotion whatsoever.

"And how do you know that?" Julian asked, a little annoyed, "I think that that's for her to decide."

"I told you," He said, through gritted teeth, "She's not interested in you."

"Look, Luke, I know you two have a history, but that doesn't mean she belongs to you. And weren't you the one who broke _her_ heart?"

And that was all it took. The gate that had been holding Lucas's anger burst opened, and spilled into every fiber of his being. He took his arm back, and flew it forward, connecting with Julian's face. It took all of a split second to do, and after, he looked at the damage he had done.

Julian's nose was spilling a red liquid, and he looked busted up. Lucas heard gasps and whispers all around him, but he didn't care. The man got what was coming to him. Or so he thought.

Out of the crowd that had gathered, he saw a small brunette make her way through, and to the fallen man.

"Luke!" She screamed, "What is _wrong_ with you?"

I couldn't answer.

"Luke, man. I think it's time you got out of here." He felt Nathan beside him, hand on his shoulder.

I still couldn't answer. I just stood there and looked at the scene before me, and thought about what lead up to it. Two girls. One boy. Three hearts. All of them had broken in a matter of seconds, and now here it was. The man, who was supposed to be his movie producer, on the ground, bleeding. He's sitting there, trying to clear his head, and take in what had just happened. And right there, right beside him, was the girl he loved, comfrting him. Who knew that you're heart could break twice in the same night?

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A/N: Well? What do you think? Keep going, or no? I appreciate the reviews, and looking forward to tonight's episode. Hope you like it!


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